Bottle or jar closure device.



H. MOORE.

BOTTLE 0R JAR CLOSURE DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 22, I917.

1,300,222, Patented Apr. 8, 1919.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARLAN MOORE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BOTTLE OR JAR CLOSURE DEVICE.

Application filed May 22, 1917.

To all "ac/tom it may concern Be it known that I, HARLAN Moons, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle or Jar Closure Devices, of which the following a specification.

My invention relates to the class of closure devices which consists simply of a disk of paper board or other flexible material of sutlicient strength, flexibility and elasticity to be sprung or pressed into an internal aunular seat or croze-like groove in the mouth of the bottle or ar, and is especially adapted for use in connection with the commonly used form of milk bottles. The need for a simple, sanitary, cheap, and easily-applied closure device of a temporary nature in con nection with the business of supplying milk at retail in returnable and refillable bottles has brought this class of bottle closure in very extensive use, and it is conceded that in many of the larger cities of the United States many thousands of these disk closures are used every day. It is also well known that these disk closures are defective in several respects, mainly in that they require a tool of some sort to remove them, and even with a tool are frequently forced into the bottle as when the finger or thumb is employed, thereby splashing or spilling the contents of the bottle and injuring the disk suliiciently to destroy it as a closure device, and thereby prevent its being inserted again by the con sumer should only a portion of the contents be removed at a time. A further objection is that in removing the disks with a tool, the bottle is not only frequently chipped around its mouth, but the disks are punctured and afterward not always sufficiently liquidtight to permit the bottle to be shaken to mix the layer of cream that gathers in the neck of the bottle when the bottle has been allowed to stand a few hours.

It is the object of my invention to overcome the objections just pointed out to the use of this class of bottle closures, and to this end it consists in providing a simple thin flexible and elastic disk with a slit or cut eXtending from its interior to the circumference. This construction of disk enables me to quickly and slightly dish said disk by overlapping the sector-shaped sections of the disk adjacent to the edges formed by the slit, and applying the closure so Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 8, 1919.

Serial No. 170,180. 1

dished to the bottle by inserting the dished disk in the inner annular seat or groove within the neck of the bottle. A bottle so constructed and arranged enables one to easily and slightly lift with the finger nails or thumb, and without the use of a pointed tool, or instrument, the upper overlapping sector-shaped section of the disk to permit the air to get under the disk or cap and between the disk or cap and the contents of the bottle, thereby destroying the partial vacuum, and enabling the closure to be easily and quickly lifted out of the neck of the bottle, when it is desired to use the contents of the bottle, without said closure being destroyed or marred for further use, or in any way disturbing the contents within the bottle. The above construction of bottle closure can be made with the minimum use of paper, cost of cutting dies, mechanical or manual operations and cost of production. Other operations and advantages of my invention, and manner of applying and using the same will appear from the hereinafter detailed description.

The invention consists of structural characteristics of elements and relative arrangements thereof, which will be hereinfater more fully set forth, and particularly POll'll'. ed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying one sheet of drawings, similar reference characters indicate the same parts in the several figures in which:

Figure l is a vertical section on line 11 of Fig. 3 of a bottle neck with my improved disk closure applied.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the preferred form of the disk closure as cut from suitable material and before being placed in the neck of the bottle.

Fig. 2* is a top plan view of a modified form of the disk closure.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the bottle showing the disk closure shown in Fig. 2 in its applied position. i

Fig. is a side view of the disk shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the disk having its sector-shaped sections adjacent to the slit overlapped and in dished condition, to be applied to the bottle.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are top plan views illusstrating further modified structures embodying my invention, and

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of a further modified form of disk when applied to a bottle having a croze-like groove in its mouth.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the drawings, 10 is an imperforate disk of flexible and elastic material preferably of paper, but any other suitable material having the same general characteristics may be employed, if so desired. Said disk 10 is substantially circular, or elliptical in form of slight eccentricity with a smooth periphery, and is provided with a slit or cut 11 extending from the center to the smooth circumference as shown in Fig. 2, or by a shorter slit 11 from the circumference to a point in the interior of the disk 10, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

Said disk 10, before being slit or out as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, is preferably made slightly larger in diameter than the inter nal diameter of the annular seat or groove within the neck of the bottle made to receive the disk or cap closure for reasons to be presently described.

Said disk 10 is made to assume the dished construction as shown in Fig. 5 by drawing over one or both of the radial cut edges formed by the slit or out 11 in opposite d1- rections with the center of the disk 10, as a pivotal point, so as to form the upper and lower overlapped sector-shaped sections 12 and 13, as indicated in Figs. 1, 3 and 5. The dished disk formed as described is inserted preferably with the Convex side toward the interior of the bottle 14 into the usual inner annular groove or seat 15 in the neck of the bottle 14, and when released the dished disk 10 naturally and freely expands, and forces its outer and smooth circumferential edge tightly and uninterruptedly against the annular vertical wall of the seat or groove 14, as shown in Fig. 1, thus preventing any possible leakage of the contents of the bottle at this outer portion of theclosure.

The overlapping sector-shaped sections 12 and 13, are forced against each other and hence prevent any of the contents of the bottle in passing between them and out of the bottle, and this bringing together of said sections 12 and 13 isefit'ected to a still higher degree owing to the dished shape of the disk 10, when the bottle 12 is turned with its bottom up, as the pressure of the contents of the bottle will tend to force or flatten out the disk, and hence press the lower or inner shaped section 13 against the outer or upper section 12, and insure a fluid-tight joint between said overlapped sections 12 and 13, as will be readily understood. After the slitted disk or closure 10 has been firmlylocked or seated in the groove 15 within the neck of the bottle 14 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and it is desired to remove the disk or cap 10, and contents of the bottle 14, all that is necessary is to slightly lift the exposed edge of the upper sector-shaped section 12 with the thumb or finger nails,when the outside air will pass between the upper and lower sector-shaped'sections 12 and 13 and destroy the partial vacuum under the disk or cap 10, when on further pulling and lifting of said upper section 12, which is now easily accomplished, the diameter or circumference of the circular disk 10 is re duced to such an extent that the outer circular edge of the disk 10 is easily freed from the inner annular seat or groove 15 of the bottle, and the disk or cap 10 is readily lifted from the bottle without any undue strain on any of the parts of the disk or cap 10, and without destroying its further use, should it be desired to replace it again as a closure for a bottle.

While I have shown and described the dished disk or cap 10 as applied to the bot scribed with reference to Figs. 1 to 5 and are applied, used and operated in the same manner.

In Fig. 6, the slit instead of being radial is made in two distinct lines 16 and 17 forming a tab 18, while in Fig. 7, is shown a radial slit 19 having a semi-circular tab 20 formed thereon. Fig. 8 illustrates a radial slit 21 with a semi-circular cut-out section 22.

Fig. 9 shows a disk or closure adapted to be inserted in the mouth of a bottle 14' having an under cut or croze-like 'annular groove or seat 15 formed therein, and hence the circumferential or outer edge 23'of the upper sector-shaped section is required to be cut away as shown in order to permit its entire under side to lie flat upon the upper side of the lower sector-shaped section.

From the foregoing disclosure of the construction and operation of my invention, it will be readily seen that all the advantages and objects of my improved closure set up in the statement of invention and description are fully carried out, and all the disadvantages of the present and usual forms of solid disk caps or closures which areordinarily pushed down with the thumb into the neck of the bottle, resulting in the unor closure, and without any of the fingers or thumb coming in contact with the contents of the bottle, or said contents uneX- pectedly spurting out of the neck of the bottle.

Many other modifications will readily suggest themselves to any one without departing from the essential and broad ele ments of the herein described invention, as for example, instead of the slit 11 of Fig. 2, or slit 11 of Fig. 2, being radial as shown, said slits may be at any angle to a tangent at the circumference, and longer or shorter than those illustrated in Figs. 2 and 2*, as indicated for example by slit line 17 in Fig. 6.

What I claim is:

1. As an article of manufacture, a receptacle closure comprising an imperforate readily yielding disk substantially circular in form having a smooth periphery and a continuous slit from its center to the circumference and adapted to have its sections adjacent to the slit overlap each other when said disk is forced into and its periphery nninterruptedly seated against the inner side of the mouth of a receptacle, whereby after the closure has been placed in the mouth of a receptacle the top or outer slitted edge of the overlapping sections is capable of being easily bent up or lifted to permit the air to enter into the receptacle and at the same time form a projecting tab with which to remove said closure from the receptacle.

As an article of manufacture, a receptacle closure comprising an imperfora-te readily yielding dished disk having a smooth periphery and integral overlapping separable sector-shaped sections when said disk is forced into and its periphery uninterrmptedly seated against the inner side of the mouth of a receptacle, whereby after the closure has been placed in the mouth of a receptacle the top or outer edge of the overlapping sect-ions is capable of being easily bent up or lifted to permit the air to enter into the receptacle and at the same time form a projecting tab with which to remove said closure from the receptacle.

3. As an article of manufacture, a receptacle closure comprising an imper-forate readily yielding dished disk formed from a substantially circular flat body having a smooth periphery and a continuous slit from its circumference to a point within 'the disk removed from the circumference and adapted to have'i'ts sections adjacent to the slit overlap each other when said disk is forced into and its periphery uninterruptedly seated against the inner side of the mouth of a receptacle whereby after the closure has been placed in the mouth of a rcccptable the top or outer slitted edge of the overlapping sections is capable of be ing easily bent up or lifted to permit the air to enter into the receptacle and at the same time form a projecting tab with which to ri-anove said closure from the receptacle.

a. The combination of a receptacle being air tight except at one opening, a. yielding disk slightly larger than the opening and having a smooth periphery inserted within said opening, said disk having a continuous slit from its center to the circumference and adapted to have its sections adjacent to the slit overlap each other when said disk is forced into and its periphery uninterrupt edly seated against the inner sides of the opening of the receptacle, whereby after the disk has been forced or placed in the opening of the receptacle the top or outer slitted edge of the overlapping sections is capable of being easily bent up or lifted to permit the air to enter into the receptacle and at the same time form a projecting tab with which to remove said disk from the receptacle.

5. The combination of a receptacle being air tight except at one opening a yielding disk slightly larger than the opening and having a smooth periphery inserted within said opening, said! disk having a continuous slit extending from a point at the circumference to a point within the disk and adapted to have its sections adjacent to the slit overlap each other when said disk is forced into and its periphery uninterruptcdly seated against the inner sides of the opening of the receptacle, whereby after the disk has been forced or placed in the opening of the receptacle the top or outer slitted edge of the overlapping sections is capable of being easily bent up or lifted to permit the air to enter into the receptacle and at the same time form a projecting tab with which to remove said disk from the receptacle.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HARLAN MOORE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner or Patents. Washington, D. G. 

